


Rodeo

by natsumii



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Character Study, F/M, Feels, Mentions of Jessica & Mike, Minor Original Character(s), One Shot, Pre-Game(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-04-20 05:14:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4774961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natsumii/pseuds/natsumii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pink bags and fake boyfriends don't mix.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rodeo

" _Maaaatt_. Matt!"

Matt blinked, and sat straight up, having been jolted away from the trance he was in. "Wha- yeah?"

"Well?" Emily huffed, "What do you think?" She did a twirl and looked at him expectantly. 

"Uh.." Matt did a once-over of the clothes Emily was wearing, trying but failing to remember which clothing article she was trying on this time. "It looks great?" He said weakly, hoping that'll satisfy his girlfriend. Emily's face dropped, and oh no she was doing  _that_ face. The face he knew all too well, that face that meant he was in some deep shit. 

"You don't even know what I'm trying on, do you?" Emily said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes I do." He claimed, chuckling nervously. "It's the, erm, the pants. Right?"

Emily scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh my gosh Matt it's the fucking shirt! God, how do you not remember this isn't the shirt I came in wearing? Some boyfriend you are, what if there was an apocalypse right now and you couldn't even find me because I changed into a different fucking shirt." She pulled at the top, "That's right, I'd be dead, thanks to you."

Matt groaned internally and ran a hand over his head. "Babe that's ridiculous. I don't think a- an apocalypse will happen all of a sudden and if it did-" He got up and wrapped his arms around her. She had her back facing him, but when he hugged her she turned around and he could see a pout on her face. "- then I would never let anything happen to you. You know that." He smiled, making her smile back reluctantly.

"Yeah OK." She said, removing herself from his arms. She went to the dressing room mirror, and started fixing her hair. "But I know the real reason why you would save me."

"And that is..?" He asked, raising a brow.

"Because you need this thing inside my skull." She pointed to her head.

Oh. _Oh._

"I thought we aren't supposed to talk about that." Matt said, glancing around wearily.

" _You_ can't." Emily replied, smoothing out the shirt and making a pose. "But I can. And I'm right, aren't I?"

"I.. uh.." He decided not to answer. It's better that way. Safer that way. 

Emily nodded in approval and marched back to the dressing room, closing the door behind her. She exited a minute later, adorning the shirt she was originally wearing, which was a plain white v-neck, the top she tried on being a white v-neck with a pink Hawaiian flower, and headed to the register counter. Matt sighed and bent down, hefting all the shopping bags up, holding at least five in each hand, and followed after her.

After they paid for the shirt, or rather he did while Emily checked out the sunglasses, they went on to the next store that caught his girlfriend's eye, which lo and behold happened to be Michael Kors. Matt could just see the dollars bills flapping out of his wallet.

"300 dollars?!" He exclaimed when Emily showed him the, 'must have bag of the century'. To him it wasn't anything special, just a plain small pink bag, completely useless if you ask him. You couldn't even fit a water bottle in that thing.

"Matt! It's not just _a_ purse. It's _my_ purse. It looks good with my outfit." She removed the purse she was currently using and replaced it with the pink one. "See?"

"But-" He protested but she gave him 'the look' again and he zipped right up. "Fine, whatever."

She smiled triumphantly and looked at the price tag. "And it's 298, not 300."

"Same thing." He muttered, walking with her to the counter.

"You should be happy to pay for this bag. Josh's one year anniversary get together is next week and I need this bag to look good, for the both of us." Emily said, holding up the pink bag by the handle, admiring it. 

"Sure it will." He said under his breath, grabbing the bag when she gave it to him. "You don't happen to have a sale going on for this bag right now, do you?" He whispered to the cashier, making sure to keep an eye on Emily who was off checking out the jewelry contained in white square compartments. The cashier shook her head and he pressed his lips together in a thin line. "Really? Not even a discount?"

"Matt, what's taking so long? Hurry up, I wanna go to my favorite store next!" Emily called.

"Yeah, hold on." He sadly slid the credit card in the slot and yes, he could literally see those dollar bills waving him goodbye.

"Here." He said, handing the bag over to Emily. They passed a sports store, and he halted, gazing longingly at the sports equipment, work out clothes, and especially the shoes. 

"Nah-ah, I don't think so. If you want to go shopping for stuff like that, then go with your friends next time. It's me time." Emily said, tugging on his arm. He relented, saying farewell inside his mind.

"You know, I don't remember signing up to go on one of your shopping sprees with you." Matt said, glancing back at the sports store, its heavenly automatic sliding doors closing with a final  _shiiing_.

"Excuse you?" Emily said, stopping abruptly in the middle of the walkway, causing the people behind them to do ninja moves to avoid bumping into the couple. "Sorry, did I hear you correctly or was that bullshit I was listening to?" Oh god was she going to cause a scene in front of all these people? You know what, she would, why was he even asking?

"All I'm saying is that nowhere in our deal did it say I have to go shopping with you and  _paying_ for it!" Matt said in a hushed voice, trying to reduce the amount of attention they were receiving. 

"Uhh no?" Emily laughed, not believing what she was hearing. "You're my boyfriend now."

" _And?_ "

"And?" Emily looked honestly shocked. Offended even. "Uh helloo? As my boyfriend you are supposed to go shopping with me. And you're supposed to pay for me, it's called being a gentleman. Learn to be one, will you?"

"OK, I'm just saying-"

Emily cut him off, "Well I'm just saying maybe we shouldn't have our study session tomorrow. Or you know what? Maybe never." She made to walk away, even got the whole stomping heels down, but he caught her shoulder.

"Wait, Em, I'm sorry." He said, "I just... I'm not used to this. Please, don't cancel our plans." Please don't, not when he's got a test this Friday. He bit his lip. "I need you."

He looked at her hopefully, and she stuck out her bottom lip, looking thoughtful. After making him squirm with uncertainty, she smiled.

"I like the sound of that." She said with more pleasure than she should have. "But you have  _a lot_ to learn about being my boyfriend and the number one rule is that I'm always right." She looked at him expectantly, and when he looked back at her confused she rolled her eyes. "So?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, you're right." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Ugh, jocks."

They resumed her shopping spree, going into one of Emily's favorite stores of all time. Matt sat down, releasing the cluster of bags, relieving his poor fingers of the pain. Emily went off scanning rows upon rows of high heels like a kid in a candy store, and like a kid she wanted it all. Matt watched her for a little while until he grew bored and started staring off at nothing, letting his mind wander to football. Jesus he should be practicing right now, not sitting down letting his legs go flabby. But what choice did he have? He needed Emily, and that required spending time with her. 

"Excuse me? Hi, do you mind if you can get that for me?"

At first Matt thought it was Emily, but whoever said it sounded nice. Matt looked up, and the day instantly got better. 

"No, not a problem at all." He said, standing up. 

"Thanks, I can't reach it myself because well, I'm half smurf if you couldn't tell." A girl, maybe of latino descent, smiled at him, and damn she had a nice smile. 

Matt laughed, and reached for the pair of shoes she was pointing at. "You're not short, I'm just very tall."

"That's true." She laughed back, and yesss he was liking this vibe. He handed the heels over to her and she took them. "Thanks..."

"Matt." He said, and shook her outstretched hand.

"Yleana." She replied. "Um, thanks again for the shoes."

"Oh, no problem." He waved his hand dismissively. "I mean, what are we tall guys for if we don't help out the short, right?"

"Hell yeah." She giggled, and eyed his jacket. "Hey, I like your jacket. Lemme guess, M stands for Matt?"

"Yeah, yeah it does. I play football, linebacker."

"Linebacker? Nice." She said, nodding her head appreciatively.

"You know what a linebacker is?" Matt asked in surprise, liking this girl more and more.

"Yes I do. My dad breathes the stuff, and so does his daughter."

Matt felt like his brain just exploded. "Aw man, are you- are you real right now? Can I- is this happening?" He rolled up his sleeve and pinched himself, making her laugh.

"Yleana!" Someone yelled, and Yleana looked over at the person calling her.

"Oh sorry I gotta go my sister is waiting on these." She held up the shoes, giving them a shake. "It was nice meeting you, Matt."

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you too." He said, and she left. He watched her walk to the counter,(and were those shorts legal?) and handed the shoes to her sister. Yleana pushed her hair behind her ear and their eyes met and she smiled shyly. He knew he had a droopy smile on his face, but he didn't care. 

"What are you looking at?"

"Oh!" Matt jumped, and consequently knocked into the shoe rack he was leaning against, tipping it over. Fortunately he didn't fall on the pile of heels sharp enough to impale him. Unfortunately, he fell on the rack, which was still very unpleasant. 

"Oh my god Matt are you ok?! What the hell?" Emily screeched. She sounded so worried, but not worried enough to help him up, which he did with much difficulty. Ouch his back...

"Sorry, sorry!" Matt said to no one in particular, rubbing his sore back. 

"Matt.. what the hell?!" Emily said in a hushed tone, glancing around at the people looking at them. "Oh my god this is so embarrassing, do something!"

"Yeah, Em, just hold on." He looked over to Yleana, expecting to see her laughing face but she was no longer there. He looked around, and caught a glimpse of her walking out of the store. Matt deflated. Well there goes the girl of his dreams.

"Matt! The shoes?" And returns the girl of his nightmares. 

Matt sighed and got to the task of putting the rack up-right again, some employees rushing over to help place the shoes back in order. 

"I am so sorry, I don't know what's got into my boyfriend." Emily laughed nervously, making Matt roll his eyes. Once they cleaned up, all Matt wanted to do was sit down and tend to his back. He turned around to head to the seats, only to have Emily shove a pair of stilettos in his face. 

*

"I can't believe you did that. You embarrassed me you know, in front of all those people too! God that's like let me shit all over Emily's face and see how much shit she can take."

They were in the lunch court now, Matt having a hotdog, Emily eating a salad.

"I said I'm sorry Em. Calm down, It was just an accident." Matt didn't care if he had to apologize a thousand times, he just wanted to eat his hot dog in peace.

"Yeah well what's done is done." Emily said, stabbing her fork through a piece of leaf.

 _Yes thank god please stop talking,_ he thought.

In between bites, he took a sip from his cup.

"Who were you looking at anyways?"

"Nmmrphc-gah!" Matt coughed, choking on the Sprite. He pounded his fist on his chest, tears forming in his eyes. Once he regained his bearings, Emily repeated her question, ignoring the fact he almost died by a soda beverage.

"Uh- no, no one." He stuttered, rubbing his sore chest.

"Mhm." She hummed, and oh gosh she's giving him the look that read 'do I look like a fuckin idiot?', look. "Yeah see, I saw who you were looking at. I just wanted to see if you would tell me, your girlfriend, the truth."

Matt felt the color drain from his face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please stop being more of an idiot than you already are. Who was the girl you were looking at?"

His cheeks reddened, and his was so done with this. "Why the fuck do you even care? I'm not really your boyfriend!"

Emily gasped, and Matt slowly sat back down. He didn't realize he said it  _that_ loud. Some of the people eating around them stopped what they were doing to peer at the couple, and Matt blushed, taking a sip to do something. Emily was unusually quiet, her lips pursed as she stared down at her salad. She abruptly got up, startling him, and stomped off. _  
_

"Em. Em wait!" Matt called after her. He went to follow, but he remembered the load of shopping bags, a mighty sum of a thousand left ripe to be stolen, and grasped them. He jogged after her, and it must have looked ridiculous seeing a boy struggling with many shopping bags into the girls bathroom. Thankfully, there were no other female occupants in the loo, so he didn't have to worry about security kicking him out of the mall.

"Emily?" He said, setting down the bags under the sink. 

"Go away!" It came from the largest stall in the end, and he stood behind the door.

"Real mature for the vice-president of Pinewood High." Matt teased softly, leaning his head on the stall.

"Oh fuck you." She sniffed. 

He stood there in silence, listening to her soft crying. Funny, he thought a tough bitch like Emily didn't shed tears, didn't even have the tear ducts to cry. Then again, he didn't really  _know_ Emily, nor did anyone else. Except Mike.

Matt took a deep breath, and rapt his knuckles on the door. "Hey.. I'm sorry about what I said back there. I didn't- I didn't mean it."

"Yes you did." Emily said, "Why the fuck wouldn't you? It's true anyways."

"Emily I- I'm sorry. Please, can you open the door? I can't apologize to a bathroom stall." Matt waited. Everything got quiet again. He strained his ears to hear something, a sniffle or the sound of a footsteps. The lock clicked and Matt pushed the door open slowly and stepped inside. Emily was sitting on the toilet, the lid down of course because she'll be damned if she let those designer jeans touch filth.

Now that he was inside, he stood there awkwardly. What the hell was he doing? He doesn't know how to comfort someone, no less a girl. No, scratch that, no less than Emily, because Emily wasn't just  _some_ girl. The rest of the girls in school were mediocre, the same; pretty, happy yet depressed, and stuck in the present. No Emily was different. Emily was smart, and she knew it, and even though she was sad because lets face it, everyone is fucking sad in their own way, she doesn't let it get to her. Emily is a bitch, and she'll be a bitch for maybe, the rest of her life, he thinks, but she doesn't let it stop her.

She strives for success, and Matt can see that. Fuck Mike only won President because people liked him more, and Emily, Emily's made a lot of enemies. Yeah, she wasn't like most girls.

"He said he loved me, you know?" Emily said, wiping at her cheek. "And I believed him. I fucking.. I thought I meant something to him." She smiled, "You know we made up these stupid fantasies, how we were going to become the real President and Vice President. How- how we were going to be different; we were actually going to change the world and  _do_ something, together. As a  _team_." Her voice hitched, and she screwed her eyes shut. "How could I have been so stupid?"

"Em. Emily you're  _not_ stupid." Matt said, getting down on his knees, his hands finding her shoulders. "You're anything but stupid. Far from it. You're the smartest person I know."

"Yeah, well what's the point in being smart when you don't have the looks to keep your own fucking boyfriend." She spat, fresh new tears falling down her face. 

Matt frowned, "What? What do you mean? Are you talking about Jessica?"

"Yes!" She cried, "That fucking- man stealing bimbo with tits. I always knew she wanted Mike for herself, I just never thought..." Emily breathed out shakily, wiping the tears from her face vigorously. "I thought what Mike and I had was something special, like nothing could come between us. I was so fucking wrong. I mean, looking back on it now, I should of seen it coming. It was so  _fucking obvious_."

She stopped talking, biting her lip and looking away. Matt reached out and cupped her cheek, turning her head back to look at him.

"What was so obvious?" He asked, rubbing her cheek with his thumb softly.

Emily sniffed. "C'mon Matt. You've seen Jessica. She's beautiful. She's funny and so out going and friendly, just like Mike, and nothing like me. That's why I was so surprised when Mike asked me,  _me_ , to be his girlfriend. Me, a bitchy nerdy little Asian girl." Matt couldn't help but chuckle, and surprisingly Emily joined him. "It was too good to be true, and it was. Because why would a boy like Mike, date a girl like me. We're nothing alike."

"Hey, there's that saying, opposites attract right?" Matt said with a smile.

Emily rolled her eyes, but didn't disagree. It was then she realized her hands were smeared with some black smudge and she gasped, laughing a bit hysterically.

"Oh god I must look like fucking Medusa come to life." She croaked, her throat sore from crying.

"Ahh!" Matt screamed playfully, pretending to freeze and turn into stone.

"Fuck you." Emily smiled, punching his chest without any real force put behind it. She got up, and exited the stall, Matt right behind her. He leaned against the wall while she turned on the faucet and splashed water on her face, rubbing the ruined makeup off her face. When she finished he handed her a strip of paper towel and she took it, patting her face dry. 

Emily breathed in and out deeply, and looked at her reflection.

"The deals off Matt." She said.

"What?"

"Don't look so worried. I'll still help you get your grades up." She reassured him. "You just don't have to pretend to be my boyfriend anymore in return."

Matt went silent at her words, training his eyes on the tile ground.

"That's... really generous of you." He said finally.

"Yeah well don't tell anybody. I'll deny it to my grave." She leaned against the stall opposite of the wall he was leaning on.

Matt smiled. Typical Emily. Guess some people never change, and why the fuck should they. 

"But who's going to make Mike jealous at the anniversary?" Matt asked. 

Emily shrugged, "I'll think of someone. Maybe someone else who I don't have to offer something back in return."

"Someone smarter right?" He suggested. 

Emily's smile disappeared, and she looked down. "Matt you're not dumb. I know, I call you stupid, or idiot, or fucking incompetent-"

"Yeah, you do. A lot." He deadpanned. 

"-But you're not any of those things. You just have brain cells in your muscles, and muscles in your head." 

"Thanks?" He laughed. 

"Your welcome." Emily said. They stared at each other smiling, and Matt found that he liked Emily's smile when it wasn't malicious or mean, just plain and simple. "Wooh, oh god this is getting too mushy good feeling for me. Let's get out of here before I puke."

"Ew, really?" Matt asked, retrieving the load of bags from under the sink.

"Wha- no!"

"Well if you really do then I have a 300 hundred dollar bag ready for you to puke in, just in case."

"Matt!"

"Just kidding..."

*

"What are we doing in here?" Matt asked as Emily lead him inside the sports store they saw a while ago. "Sorry to break it you, but I don't think they have any running shoes that come in heels."

"Very funny." Emily said, giving him a look. They walked to the back of the store, and she sat down on one of the leather couches. Matt just stood there, confused. Emily sat there with her arms crossed, and looked at him. "Well, don't just stand there, my butt is going to get flat. Go try on shoes." 

"Really?" Matt asked, surprised.

"Duh. And bring back shoes that you think I will approve of." He stood in place and she rolled her eyes. "Go!" 

"Yes, Ma'am." Matt said mockingly, earning him another eye roll. 

Turns out, finding a pair of shoes that lives up to Emily's expectations was really, really hard. They were arguing between red or blue when Emily stopped, and nodded her head towards a direction.

"It's your girlfriend." She said.

Matt looked to where she nodded at, and sure enough, there stood Yleana with her sister trying on running shoes.

"You're getting the red ones and that's final." Emily said, and packed the shoes back into the box. She stood up, and walked away.

"Hey where are you going?" Matt asked, going after her.

"I'm paying for this. And don't say fucking thank you. I'm only doing this to raise my credit score." She snapped. "Now go talk to her. I'll wait in the car, but don't take long or I'll leave you here."

Matt didn't have time to respond. He was just too shocked. Emily, like she said, went to the counter and paid for the shoes and left. He watched her disappear, and looked at Yleana.

*

Emily strutted down the near empty mall, since it was almost closing hours. She shivered, rubbing her arms. Maybe she should have worn a jacket, but a jacket didn't match with the outfit she was wearing. No pain, no same clothes coordinated outfit, she thought. 

Her ears picked up on faint footsteps before someone was next to her, walking with her. 

"Hey, you cold?" 

Emily blinked in surprise, "Matt? What the hell, I thought you were back in the store? What happened?" 

The jock shrugged nonchalantly, stopped to place all the shopping bags he carried down, and took off his letter jacket; taking the shoe box from her hands so she could slip the jacket on. She did so, albeit reluctantly, and snatched the shoe box back. They resumed their walk, Emily not so cold anymore.

"So, what happened with potential girlfriend?" She asked. "Did you get her number?"

"Mmmh, no." Matt said, "I think that would be called cheating if I did."

_Cheating?_

"How are you cheating? You're with no one."

Matt gave her a look, and Emily squinted her eyes.

"You know we weren't actually dating, right?" She asked, frowning at him.

Matt shrugged. "A deal's a deal."

"But we're not really together." Emily clarified. 

"Hey, you said so yourself. I'm your boyfriend right? So that means I gotta do what real boyfriends do, and that's not cheating on your girlfriend."

Emily looked at Matt, and he looked back. 

"This means nothing." She said. "Nothing at all. It's just a deal and it will stop after the anniversary."

"Of course." He agreed. 

"Got it?" She asked.

Matt looked at her, and smiled.

"Got it."

 

 


End file.
